I grew up in Beijing, China, where I witnessed how political, social and economic trends—what I call “tides of the age”—impacted ordinary people’s lives. Before joining Forbes Asia in New York as a reporter and online producer, I interned here for two summers covering Chinese business news, and was a news assistant at The New York Times Beijing bureau for a summer. I'm interested in how politics impacts business in China, and U.S.-China investments. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter @Hengshao90. Email me at hshao[at]forbes.com.

As China's Military Training For Students Ends With Brawl, Its Necessity Is Questioned

I always enjoyed boasting to my American friends that I received “military training” as a high-school student in China, and savored the awe in their eyes. What they didn’t know is that like the experience of most of my peers, the training was equivalent to standing straight-backed in the heat of the sun, rising before dawn to run in uniformed lines, and learning quite a few patriotic songs and slogans. The one skill that everyone walked away with was the ability to fold a comforter into the shape of a square piece of tofu.

But on Sunday, in a rare incident, the training session for a group of 9th grade students in Hunan Province got into battle mode. 40 students and their class supervisor were injured as a result of a clash with the trainers, who were military officers on reserve duty, according to Chinese media.

Beijing News Daily reported that the students, based on their own account, were beaten by a group of trainers as an apparent act of revenge. Earlier that day, they playfully tackled their own trainer to the ground, but the joke may have gone overboard and sour.

An official statement by the local propaganda department said that the brawl broke out when the class supervisor tried calling the police, as he saw the officers’ attempt to correct students’ postures, which caused some to “fall and yell,” as “vengeful physical punishment” for the earlier incident.

22 students remain in hospital as of Tuesday evening. Pictures circulating online show students with bloodied hands, which the official statement said was a result of smashing glass windows. One officer was also injured in the confrontation. Two officers in charge of the township militia, which helped organize the training, have been put on suspension.

The incident has quickly become the most discussed topic on Weibo, the Chinese version of TwitterTwitter. Although beatings of students by military training officers have occurred in the past, a case like this involving a large number of students is rare. Many commentators cast doubt over the necessity of military training, required of Chinese high school and college students by the Military Service Law instituted in 1955. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Defense jointly oversee the training, which took on more weight in the aftermath of the June 4th Tian’anmen incident.

“After June 4th, the [leaders] thought political education should be strengthened, and the students should be taught to behave like members of the military, to obey orders and stay loyal, to love the Party and the country,” says Xiaobing Li, a Chinese military expert at the University of Central Oklahoma, who once served in the People’s Liberation Army.

Nowadays though, military training is less about political indoctrination than about fostering collectivism and the spirit to endure hardship, as many of the students are the single child of their families. Ranging from 10 days to a month in the summer, the training sessions are often conducted by officers on reserve duty (as opposed to active duty)—some of them are retired PLA veterans, while others are selected militia members who have received minimal training, but could be called in at times of emergency such as floods and fires or an outbreak of war. China has about 6 million such officers, according to Li.

Parents and students have complained that military training is a waste of time. Despite rosy guidelines dictating that military typography, archery, shooting, and battle tactics should be part of the training, the trainees often pick up little practical skills – only punches and kicks that are no more useful in battle than acrobatics, and perhaps one chance to fire a shot, if one gets lucky.

“I don’t think [military training for students] is necessary, but the Xi-Li leadership has brought up the topic of political education again,” says Li. “It’s seen as useful for maintaining stability and carrying out collective actions. There is little actual effect, but there have not been enough reasons to halt it either.”

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

Comments

I think it`s good for those spoiled only children to have an experience of military training just for “fostering collectivism and the spirit to endure hardship”, although the skill they learned is useless, but the experience is important.